Chapter Thirty-Five
CAMILA
The next day, as I informed Michael, I did not go to the office. But I did not take advantage of my day off to rest.
Construction work on the bookstore was to begin that day, and part of it would be closed. My grandmother and I had to organize everything there, which included carrying boxes and boxes of books from one place to another.
Logically, this work would be left to me, because no matter how much she insisted on helping, my grandmother's spine was not good enough for such an effort.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you so happy,” grandma commented at one point.
She was leaning over the cashier's counter, making some notes in her budget notebook, while I took the books from a shelf in the part that would be closed off and put them in a box.
It was only after her comment that I realized I was singing. Like a fool in love.
I smiled. It was nice not having to lie to my grandmother, after all.
“I think it was the best birthday I've had in many years.”
That, of course, except for the part about being drugged and ending up in a police station. Since I didn't remember those events, they didn't weigh much in my comment.
“You didn't tell me how the party went. Was Alice happy? Some children don't enjoy their first birthday so much.”
As if it were possible, the smile on my face grew wider.
“She was radiant, grandma. You need to meet her. She is so cheerful, so affectionate... And beautiful as a little doll.”
“I can't wait to meet my future great-granddaughter.”
That comment gave me a little reality check.
If Michael and I were to actually get married, I would be like a new mother to Alice, and suddenly the idea sounded completely perfect to me. I already adored that little girl, after all. And I had no doubt that Jenna Collins would be the best great-grandmother in the universe.
But it wouldn't be that way.
Michael was a womanizer, who had been deprived of his parties with random women because of the obligation to show himself as a 'responsible man'. I would be his escape goat until the hearing passed. The sex toy I so feared becoming.
I couldn't complain about that, since I was the one who gave myself to him on a silver platter.
And I didn't regret it at all. My first time had been much more perfect than my wildest dreams about it.
But I needed to keep my mind in order so I wouldn't end up deluding myself that we would have anything more than that.
Which became very difficult when the bookstore door opened and Michael walked in, with his seductive smile and his good smell that soon dominated the entire small space.
“What a wonderful surprise!” my grandmother declared as soon as she saw him.
When he came in, he first passed by the counter, giving my grandmother a hug and countless kisses on her chubby cheeks. The affection he showed her was another thing that touched my heart.
But it shouldn't have. He was just a terribly hot and seductive man, capable of winning the heart of any woman, including those of cute grannies.
“Cami told me that you two were going to spend the day organizing things around here. I also decided to take a day off to come and help you.”
Okay, he was starting to get heavy into the whole seduction thing.
Releasing my grandmother, he then came over to me, greeting me with a kiss that was both innocent and charming.
“Cami was just telling me about Alice,” my grandmother declared.
The smile on Michael's face grew even bigger, in true doting dad style.
“What did she say?”
“That you have a lovely little girl.”
“You need to meet her. I'm sure she'll love Great-Grandma-Jenna.”
He definitely shouldn't have made that kind of comment. It was an illusion for both my grandmother and me.
The two continued to talk about Alice until the store phone rang and my grandmother answered it. As she spoke to whoever was calling, Michael asked me, looking around to get his bearings.
“So, what can I do to help?”
“It’s not the kind of work you’re used to doing,” I implied.
“Who knows, you might be surprised?”
“The millionaire CEO of Turner Architecture is probably not the type to be used to carrying boxes.”
“You made me carry my seventy-pound dog, what are some boxes with some little books inside?”
“Alright then, Mr. Handyman. Can you start with this one?” I pointed to the box I had just filled with books. “Take it to the storage room, please?”
He smiled victoriously, no doubt feeling great about the opportunity to show off his skills. However, when he bent down to pick up the box, the smile on his lips disappeared and he muttered a curse under his breath.
“What did you put in here? Two tons of lead?”
“It's just a few little books , nothing special,” I replied, teasingly.
He glared at me with an irritated expression that I knew was all pretense. Then he showed me that he could lift the box perfectly, although he carried it all the way to the warehouse, complaining about how heavy it was.
I laughed, because I knew it was pure drama on his part. It wasn't just Apollo who weighed more than that box, but me too, and he apparently had no problem carrying me from the police station to his car, and then from the car to his room when I was drugged.
Apart from that, the day before I had had great proof of his physical conditioning capacity.
The image of that body made of well-toned muscles invaded my mind and I had to take a deep breath to get rid of the sensation it caused between my legs. I couldn't wait to do it again, this time without the uncomfortable pain of the first time.
“Dear...” my grandmother said, as soon as she hung up the phone. “I'm going to need to go to the bank. Can you take care of things here for me for a few minutes?”
“Of course, grandma,” I replied.
From inside the warehouse, Michael shouted back, “Take your time, Jenna. When you get back, I'll have already put all these boxes away.”
She laughed and agreed, leaving the store while leaving a piece of advice in the air, “Be sensible and behave in my absence.”
I felt my face heat up at that comment. Michael’s head popped around the storage room door, looking in the direction my grandmother had left and then back at me.
“What did she mean by that? Did she read my thoughts about the things I want to do to you among these books?”
That made my face even hotter. I imagined that my face was almost the same shade as my hair.
“I don't know what kind of thoughts you had, but when you arrived you said you had come to work.”
“I can put away these half dozen boxes in five minutes, and that will give us some free time until your grandmother gets back.”
I pointed to the wall behind me, lined from end to end with shelves, each crammed with books.
“I still have all these here to box up.”
He huffed, looking genuinely frustrated.
“Damn. I don't think there will be time for everything I want to do with you. But at least there will be time for this.”
He came to me and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. Then, he joined his lips to mine, giving me the hot kiss I had been wanting to receive since he got here.
I loved the way his tongue took possession of mine, I loved feeling his scent and the touch of his hands sliding down my back. Obviously, I took the opportunity to do the same with mine, sliding them down to that ass that I loved so much.
I think I already loved too many things about that man.
With our bodies practically glued together, I could feel the bulge under his pants getting harder and that almost made me throw my mind to hell, but I tried to keep my sanity in check and forced myself to move away from him.
I needed to take a few deep breaths to catch my breath and manage to say something, “Boxes. Let's go back to the boxes.”
“Fucking boxes...” he complained, but soon laughed.
He gave me another kiss on the lips — this time, for our own safety, it was just a quick peck — and went back to helping me with my work. He was about to pick up another one of the boxes when his cell phone rang.
And he was probably waiting for some important message, because he dropped everything he was doing and took the device out of his pocket. A smile appeared on his lips when he read the message.
“Do you already have plans for Saturday, my love?” he asked.
My love?
What did he want? To finish me off?
“I never do. Is there an important social event that Michael Turner needs to attend with his fiancée?”
“The most important event of all will be coming up. Janet got me an injunction so that I can spend a few hours with my daughter away from the Harris house on the weekends. I'll be able to take her on outings.”
I noticed a change in his tone of voice, showing that he was overcome with emotion. That infected me and I dropped the books I was holding back on the shelf, running in his direction to hug him.
He picked me up, lifting my feet off the ground and spinning me around.
“I'll be able to have father-time with my daughter, Cami!”
“You will! And it will be amazing!”
“It will be. Because you will be with us.”
I would be with them.
I hugged him even tighter, feeling really happy and grateful for everything.